40 Under 40
For the past five years, the Marijuana Venture staff has compiled an annual list of some of the brightest young leaders and influencers in the cannabis industry. As in past years, we have narrowed the list from hundreds of worthy candidates to present 40 individuals from the vast and ever-changing business in the United States and Canada.
It is our honor to share their stories.
Brandon Beatty
Age: 32
Company: Bluebird Botanicals
Title: Founder and CEO
Brandon Beatty was making CBD products before CBD was cool. In 2013, when he was starting Bluebird Botanicals, the industry was just beginning to research cannabidiol. He recalls that many cannabis enthusiasts openly opposed CBD-based products.
“They didn’t know much about it and believed THC was the key ingredient to unlocking the health benefits of the plant,” he says. “It’s kind of like that old saying: ‘First they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they join you.’”
Bluebird Botanicals’ dedication to quality and transparency has not only kept the business in the hearts and minds of consumers, it also led to Beatty being one of the few CBD professionals to help draft the language of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp nationally.
“I’ve worked hard for many years to push for greater access to hemp and its derivatives because I recognized at an early age the amount of good it could do for others,” Beatty says. “It required years of labor and thousands of dollars donated to the cause, but the hard work has paid off.”